Monday, November 24, 2014

Happy Turkey Week!!

We at DELRT hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are very thankful for each and every one of you.

Today I'd like to share with you a site called Piktochart.com. It is a great way to make quick little infographics that can be shown in presentation form as well as an image.

There are several templates to choose from or you can create your own from scratch. My college is currently working on creating a new QEP. I've used these piktocharts to provide visual representations for our initiatives and goals.

Here is a ready-made Thanksgiving graphic that is available from the site. Leave a comment to let us know your thoughts and how you can see this implemented.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

DocsTeach.org is a
website from the National Archives.Some
of you may be very familiar with it but for those who aren’t, I’d like to take
a minute to share a great educational resource.

The National Archives has digitized quite a few items and
made them available online.There are
written letters, newspaper clippings, videos, photographs, charts, etc. from different
points in American history.They have
sectioned the documents by time period and you can see the main page for that here.

﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿

Drawing for a Washing Machine

This is the
printed patent drawing for a washing machine invented by Oliver B. Wright.

﻿﻿﻿﻿But they haven’t stopped there.They have also created a program that will
help you develop lessons to teach using the documents and provide you with tips
to teaching students about primary sources and how to use them.You can find that are here.There is also a section where you can browse through lessons to use with your students.Those are
located here.

This is a fantastic source, not only for history lessons,
but for any research lesson.One of the
hardest things for students to do with regards to research is understand the
difference between primary and secondary sources and then find primary
sources.This site helps tackle both of
those problems.

Go check it out and let us know how you or your coworkers were
able to implement this treasure.

First Report of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, From Gen. Alfred H.
Terry, Montana, to Assistant Adjutant General R.C. Drum, Chicago

Monday, September 15, 2014

ComicMaster can help you create visually attractive,
comic style flyers that can help you spread the news about upcoming programming
or introduce new lesson. Super heroes
are huge right now so why not use that to the library’s advantage.

The navigation is quite tricky and it does take a minute to
get familiar with how to set it up. It
isn’t the best user interface but once you get the hang of how it works it's actually fun!

Unfortunately, it doesn’t allow you to save it to a program
outside of ComicMaster, meaning you can’t save it to your computer or a flash
drive. Your only option is to print it
which is fine if you are making a physical flyer to post somewhere. I was looking for something I can post
digitally. So, I clicked “Print to PDF”
and was then able to save the PDF to my computer. I was then able to save it as a JPEG image which is what you see here.

I’m sure that you creative folks out there can make some of
these that are much more interesting than this one. When you do, we would love to see it. Please share it in our comments section. I hope you can find some great ways to use
this tool and show the world how “SUPER” your library is.

Monday, August 18, 2014

We are beginning the fall semester and that may mean some
budget cuts for your library. In case
you had to cut your screen capturing software from this year’s budget, you can
still make awesome videos for your library.

Jingis a free screen capturing software that is very
easy to use. You can create videos up to
5 minutes long and save them to your computer or share them with social media. These videos upload very easily into
LibGuides.

You can also capture images with Jing. One great use for this would be messaging
with patrons. If your library uses a
chat option, you can capture an image, save it to a Jing friendly website (screencast.com), and send the automatically generated link to the patron in
the chat box.

There are also video tutorials to walk you through the process of
capturing and customizing the features so learning how to navigate the software is very easy.

If you create a lot of video tutorials and need a free way
to do it, Jing is a great option.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

PowToon is a video
creation website that has you create short videos to explain your ideas rather
than creating slide shows. It is billed as an alternative to boring slide shows.You create an account for free or you can
“upgrade” to the Business or Pro versions to access more content.

To get started you choose the type of template you would
like to use.There are some pre-made
templates that you can select and then edit the content or you can start from
scratch to create your video.

Then you add people or characters, backgrounds, shapes,
items, and transitions.The editing
screen is set up similar to PowerPoint so it has a familiar feel and is easy to
navigate.You can also add music to your
video from their collection or you can upload your own.You also have the option to add a voice
over.

When inserting images, you can choose your own or search the
web.The site will only allow you to
search for Creative Commons images when searching the web.Great for avoiding copyright infringement!

With the free version, your only option for the completed
video is to export it to YouTube. If you purchase one of the paid plans then
you are able to download the videos so you can present them anyway you
like.

While these short videos aren’t the best way to present all
information, they are a great way to give a little more life to dry presentations.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Socrative is a student response system
that allows students to use their own devices.Teachers can create quizzes that the students answer in real time. On the webpage you can choose to create an
account with Socrative 1.0 or 2.0.They
offer the same features but the layout of 2.0 is more compact.

The teacher begins by creating an account and that will
create a “Room Number”.It’s going to be
some dreadful number that you won’t be able to remember but you can edit it by
going to “My Profile” using the “Menu” button at the top of the page.

Once you have created an account, there are four options:

·Start Quiz

·Quick Question

·Space Race

·Exit Ticket

·Manage Quizzes

At the end of each of these the teacher is provided a report
of the results from each activity including a grade for everyone who
participated as well has what their responses were.These reports can be downloaded into an Excel
document, emailed, or (if you linked your Google account with it) sent to your
Google Drive. The reports are also
stored in the “Reports” section under “Manage Quizzes”.

Start Quiz

This allows you to administer quizzes that have be created
ahead of time.You can have questions
that are multiple choice, true or false, and short answer.You are not limited to one format when creating
your quiz.If you want 3 true or false
questions, 2 multiple choice questions, and one short answer then you can make
it so.You can require that they enter
their names before answering and you can randomize questions and/or answers.You can also have questions progress at the
student’s pace or at the teacher’s pace.

Quick Question

You can create quizzes ahead of time to administer during
class or you can use the “Quick Question” option to have students respond to a
verbal question.If you just want to
find out if your students’ understand what you are talking about but you are
worried that some of them are relying on others to answer verbally, then “Quick
Question” can help with that.You can
simply have students log-in with your “Room Number” and they can answer your
verbal question.This has the same
format as the quizzes, multiple choice, true or false, and short answer.You can have students respond anonymously or
require they enter their name.You can
also limit it so they can only respond once if you want.

Space Race

You can use your premade quizzes to create a “Space Race”.Students can be set in teams (up to 15) by
choosing or being assigned a color and they answer the questions for the quiz
as their “spaceship” races across the teacher’s screen. If a correct answer is given then the ship
moves forward, if an incorrect answer is given then the ship does not progress.When an incorrect answer is given the
students receive a message saying it is wrong and telling them the correct
answer.You might wish to project the “race”
on the board for the class to see.

Exit Ticket

The “Exit Ticket” is a set of three questions that are generated
by the software to assess how a student perceived the class.They are asked how well they understood, they
must type something they learned, and they answer a question posed by the
teacher.

Manage Quizzes

This is where you create new quizzes, import quizzes from
others using the provided code, edit, duplicate, or delete your quizzes, and
view past reports.

Student Log-In

This tool provides teachers an ability to assess students in
a more interactive way so instruction can be tailored when needed rather than
after the major test.It provides data
to support the class and grades the quizzes for you.This is a fantastic idea to see what is
happening with students’ learning in a real-time environment.It could even be used to assess the service
or performance of the library, you would simply provide patrons with the “Room
Number” and ask they to answer the survey on their device.

Hope you can find create ways to use this at your institution. Please share your thoughts and ideas below. We would love to hear from you!

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Today's nifty, free little tool is Remind101. This allows you to text students without revealing your personal number. You simply provide your name, email, and create a password. You give your "class" (or library) a name and the site gives you a number and a code to give your students.

Some cool features:

you can create multiple classes

you can remove the classes (i.e. at the end of the semester)

you can determine what name appears for you on the text

provides embedding codes so you can add it to your blog or webpage

students can't text back

there is an app in the App Store and Google Play to manage the system on the go

you can add attachments

you can schedule texts to be sent at a later date so you can schedule reminders when events are scheduled so you don't have to remember to send a reminder, Remind101 will do it for you!

the site provides you with a PDF handout for students about signing-up

you can request an email of the "message history" to see what has been sent and when

students can receive the massages as e-mails if they don't have texting

You aren't limited to the number of students who can receive the texts so this is a great way to remind students of events happening in the library. You can also use it with groups such as book clubs or to send information to co-workers or work studies. If you are working with classes you can remind them about what you will be doing or what they will need for class.

A few things to keep in mind:

you can only text 140 characters

it is tailored to K-12 teachers so it will not allow you to message individual students

it will warn you if you are trying to text Monday-Friday 8PM-7AM or Sat.-Sun. 8PM-9AM, you can click past the warning and send it anyway if you would like

This service has a great many possibilities. I'm sure you have a million ideas as to how to use this, please share those with us in the comments below. Enjoy!

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Glogster
is a free platform for creating digital multimedia papers or posters. It is great tool that allows users to build interactive
displays. Users can attach graphic and
even video as well as audio into their presentations. The electronic resource gives users the
ability to add their own text and even paint on their creations, opening up
creative options that are not found in most electronic presentation
platforms. Glogster also allows users to
collaborate making building of multimedia items or posters a snap. Creators can link out to websites and other
content from the internet easily using the tool. It is a great platform that will give patrons
especially children and young adults a web accessible presentation utility that
can be used anywhere there is an internet connection.

The interface is very easy to use unlike most graphic
programs like Photoshop or Gimp giving users a quick way to build material for
multimedia presentations. It is great
for a library that needs free presentation tools for children or young
adults. Anyone is allowed to create a
free account. Just go to the right hand
side of the screen and select the area that says go to Glogster.com. Once you have setup your account on Glogster you are ready
to go. You can either create your own
presentation, or use templates. The
templates option is great for first time users and can really speed up the
process for building a Glog! Check
Glogster out it is a tool that can benefit your patrons and add value to your
library.

Monday, March 31, 2014

Classtools.net is a free set of templates that allow
educators and other users to create interactive learning content.It is a web based tool where librarians and
teachers can build educational video games and faux social media pages to go
along with assignments or presentations.Classtools.net is totally free.There
is a premium option that includes several additional features including ad free
access.

Probably one of the more exciting features is the ability to
create a virtual treasure hunt using the educational site in conjunction with
Google Maps. Users can also create QR
code assignments.This is a very versatile
set of tools especially for individuals looking to build interactive
educational games and other out of the box learning experiences.

For librarians it represents a chance to add games and other
non-traditional content to webpages and instruction sessions.Teachers will find it useful for building
lessons using media that kids and adolescents respond to.The free version of the site is very busy
with numerous ads and constantly changing windows but despite this
Classtools.net is very easy to navigate.Also the templates themselves are simple to use allowing librarians,
teachers and other educators to create content very quickly.This website is a great tool to add to your
distance learning arsenal and even though it is geared toward a younger
audience it can be useful for older students.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

WiseMapping is a free web based tool that can be used for
developing concepts for projects or papers.
Based on the idea of diagraming or what is known as a spidergramming or
spidergraphing. Individuals can link
concepts or words in order to create a map or framework to facilitate thoughts
or planning. This tool is a great way to
brainstorm, problem solve, or organize information without developing restrictive
hierarchies.

For librarians WiseMapping can be a useful tool to show patrons. It is web based and free so access will not
be a problem. For students it presents
an interesting way to organize papers or projects. They
can also easily use it to brainstorm. Patrons
interested in writing will find it useful for developing ideas for fiction and
non-fiction stories. WiseMapping can
even be used to develop simple horizontal family trees for libraries that have stakeholders
interested in genealogy.

This tool offers the ability to collaborate. Users can share mind maps and even allow
others to edit their creations. The mind
maps can be exported into blogs, power points, word documents, etc… Also you can publish or make public the diagrams
you create on WiseMapping. Mind maps can
be printed directly from the tool as well, making it useful for students and
teachers.

It is easy to set up.
Users first have to make an
account, once that is accomplished they can immediately start creating mind maps
in WiseMapping. It has tutorials
available for individuals using the web based tool for the first time. Also users can get help by selecting the
Contact Us link at the bottom of the WiseMapping website.

This is a very powerful free web based tool. WiseMapping is a great addition to any
librarian’s education arsenal. I encourage everyone to check it out and leave a comment about this tool.

Friday, January 24, 2014

In my blog today I am going to discuss Khan Academy. This is a website based learning tool that
offers tutorials and exercises on a number of different topics. The electronic resource is free to use and
has lessons in math, science, economics/finance, and history/civics. It represents a self-paced tool that anyone
with an internet connection can use. One
of the unique features of this site is that they have partnered with several
education institutions including the Getty Museum and Massachusetts Institute
of Technology. Khan Academy represents
an amazing resource that can be used by school libraries and can be leveraged
by public and academic libraries as well, to the benefit of their patrons.

Its biggest advantage is that the electronic resource
represents a way to offer tutoring to patrons both young and old without
expending excessive resources. One of the
critical shortages that libraries face is a lack of personnel. Khan
Academy has many easy to use self-paced tutorials so that there is no need for
an organization to hire tutors or use staff in order to provide educational help
to patrons. The other major problem
libraries and many educational institutions are facing is deficient
funding. Khan Academy is free. All you need in order to use this electronic
resource is an internet connected computer and a working email. Patrons can just register and right away they
can begin using the program within most libraries. Khan Academy is a great tool that has many great
features and can help users reach their educational goals.

About Me

DELRT stands for Distance E-Learning Round Table. We are one of the units of the Texas Library Association. Our goal is to share information on distance e-learning with librarians, library staff, and folks who love libraries. If you have any questions you can email TLA.DELRT@gmail.com.